Romain Bardet has just finished a tough season where he announced to the World that he was now a contender for Grand Tours after finishing sixth in the Tour de France.

He talked to Cyclingnews about his thoughts on his stellar 2014 year and his hopes for 2015.

“Sometimes it’s hard to be objective. At the beginning of the season I thought that it would be a great year if I could make a top 10 in a Classic and a one-week race in the WorldTour. I did both and I did more than that. Of course I was really happy with how the Tour de France went. I wasn’t prepared to be in the position of fighting for the podium after two weeks. For me, mentally, it was something new. I didn’t believe too much in myself but now for the next years I will have more confidence in myself to fight for the first positions.”

“I started the Tour just to learn and to support Péraud, and maybe go for a stage win. I wasn’t sure about my ability to be up there. When I saw the pressure from the media was growing quickly during the first two weeks and I was on the podium, it was really hard to deal with. It was really new and it’s always special at the Tour de France, especially for the young French guys. It is something that I have to deal with over the next years.”

One of the subplots for this year’s Tour de France was the battle between Bardet and another young Frenchman, Thibaut Pinot of FDJ, for the White Jersey, a gripping battle that in the final week, Bardet would ultimately lose.

“Pinot is a good friend of mine and we know each other very well, so it was good for us to fight in the classification. There was no bad feelings. It was an awesome battle and I am happy when he is in this position, because I know that I can do the same in the following years. I know for him it is the same. It’s a good motivation and it’s good for French cycling.”

“We have a good generation of climbers. Warren is also really strong and maybe it is good for us to be three, because there is the pressure on our shoulders is shared. When there was just Pierre Rolland who was performing well in the Tour it was really hard because he had all the pressure on him.”

As for whether any of Bardet, Pinot, Barguil or Rolland could become a Tour de France winner, Bardet had this to say:

“We don’t know. Maybe yes. For me, I don’t wake up every morning thinking that I am going to win the Tour. It is not my prerogative, but I will do my best. It is not that I don’t believe in my abilities, but it is not my motivation. We have a really strong generation in the international bunch like (Nairo) Quintana and (Michal) Kwiatkowski, who are really strong. We will see, but it’s hard to say.”

Bardet recently extended with his current team, AG2R, until 2018 and says that when he had the opportunity to do so, he didn’t hesitate for a second.

“I didn’t hesitate to sign with (team manager) Vincent (Lavenu). He helped me in my last two years as an Under 23 rider, he helped me to turn professional and we have a really good relationship. I really feel that the whole team is watching out for me and they are interested in my future. It is important for me take time to keep improving every year and for me it is the best place to become a good rider.”

After his fantastic year, he will be under pressure to up his game again and Bardet talked about on what stages he planned to show this:

“I guess it will be the same goals. I've seen the route of the Giro d'Italia and I’m pretty sure it is the Grand Tour that suits me best. But it is hard for a French guy to miss the Tour. I have done the Tour twice and it has worked well both times that I’ve done it, so I think I will continue in this direction next year but I hope to be able to ride the Giro d'Italia in the following years. I will also try to do a good Classics campaign.”